ZZ Top - Rancho Texicano The Very Best Of ZZ Top

Due to my age I didn't get to see many of the greats live. I've alway sworn I was born in the wrong decade. However, ZZ Top are one of the bands I have gotten to see and they were fantastic. Although I've never owned more than a greatest hits album from them, seeing them live heavily inspired me to go searching for more; one double album specifically.

The only ZZ Top album I owned for twenty years was simply ZZ Top Greatest Hits, which was released in 1992. I liked it, but it never inspired me to move on to any other albums. Especially when I was the only one of my friends for years that was into the three Texas Beards.

Then in 2004 the band released Rancho Texicano The Very Best Of ZZ Top. I wanted to pick it up right away, but since I already had half the songs, and didn't want to spend the money on a second half I didn't know at all, I always held back. CD addiction is expensive and you have to pick your fixes wisely, especially while starting a family.

I've always kept an eye out for the album and when I finally found a copy at a point when the cost met my wallet dictation I picked it up. I should have picked it up years before, because it makes my Greatest Hits CD look like some commercial designer drug for beginners. I've now given it to my daughter since I've found something more hardcore.

As of the point that I'm writing this review I've only had the CD in my collection for a month or so. I've only listened to the double disc collection a handful of times in it's entirety, mainly mixed with 23 other discs, and over half of if I've only heard for the first time.

Let me start with the fact I had no idea that ZZ Top were such a heavy blues band in the early days. I mean I had heard the influence in their music, but to actually hear songs like Brown Suger, Goin' Down To Mexico and Just Got Back From Baby's, which kick off this collection, is amazing. All three tracks are from the 1970 ZZ Top's First Album.

Now I think it goes without saying that Brown Sugar is another term for heroine, and this is a song about how friends help lead all Blues players to hit the needle. It starts off slow and drowsy, then kicks up into a mother fucker of a heavy blues song. Lots of chuggings and swooping from the guitar with a great backing rhythm. Goin' Down To Mexico is a faster paced escapist type song with a fast beat, while Just Got Back From Baby's is a slower, more groovy, kind of song. They are both superb examples of Texas Blues from both ends of the spectrum.

I'm not a fan of Francene, from the 1972 Rio Grande Mud album. Of the three songs represented this is the weakest in my opinion. Compared to Just Got Paid it's a soft fluffy song for that special someone.

Speaking of Just Got Paid, this has become one of my new favoutires. You want to talk about a song that has it all. There's this awesome guitar riff, major ass Blues soaked lyrics, and a passion to go out and get into trouble. It's everything a guy like me can ask for.

Bar-B-Q is the last track from Rio Grand Mud, and it's not bad. It's not a song that will ever make it to my Mp3 player or anything like that, but when in a CD mix, it's great.

It would seem that it took until 1973 Tres Hombres album came out until I started recognizing songs, but then again who doesn't know La Grange. Now from what I understand, in the various articles I've read over the years, this one came from a jam at some live venue. It just turned into this beautifully thick Texas Whorehouse of a song. I'm sure that as you read this some woman is stripping to it somewhere in the world.

After that it moves on to Waitin' For the Bus, which I always thought was called Have Mercy, based on the chorus. It's easy to understand, and holy shit you want to talk about some blues.

That's nothing though, because when it goes into Jesus Just Left Chicago I get all Blues drunk. I mean this is some heavy duty blue chugging and guitar swigging. It brings to mind AC/DC's Ride On, but more in your face.

Now, I guess it should be said that most of the time I don't feel a need to talk about lyrics. I've never been a big lyrics person, unless the song is about the lyrics. However, I try to include more about the lyrics because the general public like that. I mean after all it's the lyrics that appeal to all of us right. Those are what means something. Not the case for ZZ Top.

La Grange has words, but what are they? Jesus Just Left Chicago has the title of the song followed by "and is on his way to New Orleans." Then when you get to Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, those are the only words I can remember. "Why?" You may ask. Because the music is just too awesome to really retain anything more than just the semblance of the story they are putting together. Especially in the early work.

Then when you hear them put together in a song that seems based on lyrics, like the next song Mexican Blackbird, you understand why lyrics don't matter so much. I'm still not sure if that song's supposed to be serious or not. There's just something about it that sounds like it's supposed to be jokeative.

"I been up, I been down. / Take my word, my way around. / I ain't askin' for much. / I said, Lord, take me downtown, / I'm just lookin' for some tush. / I been bad, I been good, / Dallas, Texas, Hollywood. / I ain't askin' for much. / I said, Lord, take me downtown, /I'm just lookin' for some tush. / Take me back way back home, / Not by myself, not alone. /I ain't askin' for much. / I said, Lord, take me downtown, / I'm just lookin' for some tush." Never have more honest words been spoken. This song also came from the same jam as La Grange. However, Mexican Blackbird, Tush and the next three songs all come from 1975's Fanfango!.

I also don't feel a need to say much about Tush because everyone should pretty much know the song. Even if it's not the ZZ Top version. The nice part about ZZ Top is the fact that this song could be played by a Rock, Country, Blues, or any band that's a variation of those. Their entire cataloge prior to 1979 is like that on here.

Thunderbird and Blue Jean Blues are no different from that either. Thunderbird is more upbeat, with a "live" studio approach that's appealing, but doesn't make the song stand out as much as Blue Jean Blues does.

A slow blues song, as the title does indicate, that is a soulful mourning of "The Pair" of jeans stolen by a woman. This is such a great standard blues song, even if the content seems lame to some people. But those people have never owned a pair of those jeans.

Heard It On The X is a great, fast passed, finger blister pumper, dedicated to a radio station, specifically "The X". Like I said lyrics are not incrediably important with ZZ Top. It's the music and the music is always solid.

It's Only Love sounds like it's one of those songs that's only on here so the album it comes from, 1976's Tejas, would be represented. This sounds pretty standard and this collection might benefit from it not being on here as far as I'm concerned. It sounds like a B-side jam that would be great for ZZ Top collectors.

Arrested for Driving While Blind is the same thing. A very typical blues kind of song. If I had to guess based on the two songs submitted here from Tejas, those sessions were pretty much the guys walking in with a collection of lyrics and then they just started hammering out some basic blues and jammed around it. Which might make this a great Blues Jam album, but not all jam albums are great.

It would seem that ZZ Top felt they needed a break after that album because it took until 1979 until they released another album. That's odd for a band from the 70's. Most bands back then wouldn't go more than two years at the extreme most without releasing an album.

Now I have no idea why ZZ Top would say, "Hey, let's do a song written by Issac Hayes." but they did, I Thank You, and it was fantastic. Some of the sound is a bit modern (for the time) because it sounds like there was some keyboard work. However, that could have been production.

From there it's on to Cheap Sunglasses and it's clear at this point that ZZ Top, were trying to mix something different in there. It still sounds like the Texas Blues band, but it's like they got into the Pink Floyd's Catalogue or something. I don't want to say they were using acid, but I think they were using acid. Well, I think peyote is more likely. Does that mean this is bad? Hell no. I love Cheap Sunglasses. I'm sure you do too, because the song is just cool.

I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide is still a more modernized ZZ Top song, but in a way that let's you know that they have control when they want it. To this day I can't get over how badass this song sounds, since it's totally shameless. "Well I was movin' down the road in my V-8 Ford, / I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered. / With my New York brim and my gold tooth displayed, / Nobody give me trouble cause they know I got it made. / I'm bad, I'm nationwide. / Well I'm bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, I'm nationwide." How have no rappers stolen this yet?

The only song I didn't know on here from 1979's Deguello is A Fool For Your Stockings, which is pretty much what you expect. This sounds like something that could have come right out of Shaft or something like that. Totally blues, but with a more (would be) early 80's sounds. This is a song that's so honest, which good Blues always is, that it's a man that's dying because of how sexy she is in her stockings. Something today's kids don't seem to understand anymore. They only see it as a fetish.

That finsihes up the first disc and covers almost every song I never new from ZZ Top, except for a few. The second disc is the opposite. I know most of the songs, with only a couple I had never heard. One of those also ended up becoming a joke between those of us that read Stephen's Dark Tower series. But I'll get to that when I get to Afterburner.

However, I'm going to start with 1981's El Loco. I don't care for Tube Snake Boogie. Even as a juvenille pervert I found this song a little cheesy. The next song Pearl Necklace is lyrically the same, however musically it's much better. I will listen to Pearl Necklace without feeling the need to hit the skip button, because I'm a man and I like to give out pearl necklaces too. However, Tube Snake Boogie is a total skip it for me.

Now, I do remember 1983 with some clarity. I was still pretty young, but Eliminator exploded onto the radio with such force that it could not be ignored. There's a total New Wave ambience to the four monster hit songs that were spawned from this album, but they are four of the biggest songs ZZ Top have, after Tush and La Grange. Gimme All Your Lovin' kicks off the "You know, you know these songs" list. This is totally Rock & Roll, and a good simple type of rock. It's almost innocent, unless you actually are paying attention to the lyrics. "Gimme All Your Lovin' / And your hugs and Kisses too".

Find me one guy that grew up in the 80's that didn't get dressed at least once in their life to the next song, and I will point out someone that sadly passed before their time. Even if it was for that first date, when you were thirteen and had a face full of acne that only a mother could love, you got dressed to Sharp Dressed Man. It's like the song demands it.

Why did you get dressed to Sharp Dressed Man, because of the next song. Legs, has got to be the most commercial song ever recorded by ZZ Top. Nothing wrong with this one though, except for it might be the reason I like long legs. Damn media brainwashing. But I digress.

I personally own a couple of different bands performing this song, and each one does it slightly different. ZZ Top also do something different when performing this one live. They take out all the synth sounding crap. It's the only thing that hurts the song.

The last song from the Eliminator album is Got Me Under Pressure. This is just like every other song from this album, in the sense that if you get rid of the 80's New Wave ambience and sound, the songs would be so much better. I mean they are all great songs, some of the best, but the sound is so 80's in a bad drum machine way. How do I know these songs are better without that crap, because they don't use that crap live and it sounds better.

Now take everything I just bitched about, and multiple it by ten and then make it last for five songs. 1985's Afterburn has the sound of what was becoming so cliche in the 80's. I can only say so much how I hate the sounds of drum machines, or sampling. It make Sleeping Bag sound like a mash up between ZZ Top and Madonna or Cyndi Lauper. Just not right.

Stages is one of those 80's songs that are a total skip. I mean it's crap, that I just loathe. Which carries right on into Rough Boy, a song I think is the worst ZZ Top song I have ever heard.

That leads into the Dark Tower story I was discussing earlier. In the third book of the series, there's a reference to drums being played over the loud speakers in a town. One of the characters by the name of Eddie thinks about how they remind him of ZZ Top's Velcro Fly. I always thought this song was from an older album, I didn't realize it was from an album Stephen King probably picked up brand new and was listening to as he wrote that part.

What makes matters worse is that as I was the only ZZ Top fan of all my friends, that read The Dark Tower, so everyone kept asking me about the song and I had no clue. Of all the ZZ Top albums I had seen between various family members, I never saw this album. Also after hearing some of the contributions on hear I understand at least why.

As for the song itself, it sounds like it's right out of Escape From New York, or some other 80's Thiller/Post Apocalypse movie. Which is why it totally makes sense in the part of the Dark Tower that it is in.

The last song from Afterburner is Woke Up With Wood, which is just like every other song on here. That being said, Frank Beard should not be allowed to go near any type of electric drums ever again. I don't know who came up with that idea, but the producer was a moron, no matter how much this may have helped keep the three dirty old men popular.

When I hear an album title called Recycler it doesn't inspire much confidence. However, the two songs that came from the album, Doubleback and My Head's In Mississppi I really enjoy.

Doubleback is the song made famous by Back To The Future III, which I've taken a lot of grief for over the years. It doesn't help that's my favourite of the three movies as well.

Now this song is a bit stock, but compared to the last five songs I just listened to and wrote about this stock is very welcomed change. Very welcomed indeed. This is also another great one of those multi genre songs that ZZ Top do so well.

I had no clue My Head's In Mississippi was as new as it is. I would have guessed this song came out in 1990 as much as I would have thought it came out in 1983, or even 1979, if it weren't for those cursed electric sounding drums. If it weren't for that, this could have been a song from the early days, with ease. It's a really good tune.

The original material, and I'm using that term very loosely, that finishes the album is Viva Las Vegas, which was from the Greatest Hits album. I like this better than the Elvis version, but it's nothing special. I could also do without the studio over production on it as well. This shouldn't have been dance mixed in any way, even if it was on purpose. Another one that sounds much better when they perform it live.

The last three tracks are Cheap Sunglasses (Live), Legs (Dance Mix), Velcro Fly (12" Remix). The live track is cool, since I've heard it live and it's awesome. I could live without the Legs (Dance Mix). That was just not right. Then when it comes to Velcro Fly... well I know the song much better now, and it totally makes sense in that part of The Wastelands.

All in all this is a great collection, and it taught me that if I go out to buy any ZZ Top albums it will have to be from 1979 or earlier. In other words the first disc of this collection blew my mind. The second half is half the commercial crap that we all know, and only some love, and the other is half good solid, over produced music. I guess I should mention that there are four ZZ Top albums, released on RCA records, that were not included on here either. All of those were released after 1992, and clearly left out because of label conflicts.

8/10 - content

7/10 - production

7/10 - personal bias